MORE NEWS, 8-27: SUN NOW; NAT’L LAB LOOKS AT BIG WIND; ADVANCES IN ALGAE; NEVADA GEOTHERMAL GETS BIGGER

SUN NOW
Everday Solar
Rhone Resch, August 24, 2009 (SF Examiner)

"Everyday, I like to check to see…if my electric meter is running backwards…[because] I have a solar energy system on my roof...[T]housands of Americans across the country that are doing the same…Incentives and grants from federal, state, and local governments mean there has never been a better time to go solar. The most effective incentive yet, the federal solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) creates a 30 percent credit for families and businesses buying solar energy systems, eliminates outdated prohibitions on utilities using the credit and authorizes millions in clean energy bonds to drive down costs and spur greater use of solar.

"The ITC puts a 'sale' sign on solar energy systems of up to 30 percent off…[It] directly pours millions of investment dollars into the industry, driving down material costs and making solar products more affordable. This growth in solar installations is also creating jobs and spurring economic growth in all 50 states…In July, the Treasury Department announced $3 billion to be invested in renewable energy projects outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This will lead to [more growth]…"

This was before the new ITC put the "sale" sign up on solar. (click to enlarge)

"The climate change bill making its way through Congress would establish for the first time a national renewable portfolio standard, create new opportunities to get solar energy to markets, protect the air we breathe, and finally allow the federal government to enter into 20-year contracts for clean, reliable solar energy. These are the right policies to create a stable investment climate for the solar industry, just as the government has done for every other energy source, including coal, oil, and nuclear. The House has passed its bill and we are currently working with the U.S. Senate…

"Solar is ready now to meet America’s growing energy needs…[Besides] rooftop [photovoltaic solar (PV)] panels like the ones on my house…there are numerous other types of solar…Concentrated solar power, for example, uses huge fields of mirrors that "concentrate" the sun’s heat to warm a liquid that generates steam to drive a turbine to produce electricity. The intensity of the sun in places like the American Southwest is so strong that these states can start exporting power instead of jobs…Plants like these are in the construction pipeline…Solar water heating…on top of your roof can heat water for a whole day’s needs, saving thousands on your energy bills…94 percent of Americans support the use and development of solar technology…"

Number 3 with a bullet. (click to enlarge)

"…[S]olar is one of America’s few industry bright spots…[In 2008, installed solar] grew by 16 percent…[and] there are 6,000 megawatts of concentrated solar power plants in the development pipeline…U.S. solar manufacturing capacity increased by 65 percent in 2008, reporting an industry total job increase of 71 percent…[P]hotovoltaic solar clocked a growth rate of 81 percent…Solar water heating installations grew by 50 percent…[T]he United States…[moved] to third in the world after Spain and Germany for the total amount of new solar capacity. With the right policies out of Washington, it won’t be long before we surpass Spain and Germany as well.

"…[I]n 2016, the solar industry expects to support 440,000 American jobs. The 2009 stimulus bill alone will create 60,000 additional jobs in the solar industry this year and a total of 110,000 jobs by the end of 2010. As the solar industry continues to grow, so will American prosperity and sustainability…You can do your part too. Contact your local solar installer…Contact your legislators…[Y]ou can use solar everyday to make a difference."


NAT’L LAB LOOKS AT BIG WIND
NREL gets super-sized turbine at wind center
August 24, 2009 (Daily Camera via Energy Current)

"The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has added the first of two super-sized wind turbines to its [12+ turbine] research center in southern Boulder County…[where] graceful lattice-mounted units with 2-kilowatt capacities [and] hulking white turbines from the mid-1980s that can crank out 600 kilowatts…[stand in] the wind gusting off the foothills at the National Wind Technology Center.

"…[C]onstruction workers used two cranes to lift 220 tons of [one new turbine’s] parts into place. The rotors for the new machine stretch nearly 253 feet in diameter, and when turning, those blades will be able to generate 1.5 megawatts of power…"

This used to be wind power...(click to enlarge)

"Thousands of similar turbines are already being used at wind farms across the country, but the blades on those machines need to keep spinning, generating as much electricity as possible and working to recoup investments in the farm…[A]t the wind center, researchers will be able to tweak the turbine to get the most energy possible from the available wind in an effort to close the already-shrinking gap between the cost of wind energy and the cost of electricity from fossil fuels…"

...Now this is. (click to enlarge)

"A second turbine, with even bigger blades -- a 331-foot rotor diameter -- will be installed at the [National Wind Technology Center ] wind center later this year… The wind, when it comes, can be brutal, gusting in wild, turbulent bursts [sometimes of more than 100 mph] -- the kind of conditions that are rough on a turbine, flexing the blades and straining the generator. But that's perfect for the wind center. Researchers there are studying how to more accurately and quickly turn turbines into the wind and adjust the pitch of the blades to keep the generator running smoothly.

"The location also helps scientists learn how turbines hold up to ice, lightning strikes, temperature variations and violent storms…"


ADVANCES IN ALGAE
'Green goo' biofuel gets a boost
Steve Mollman, August 24, 2009 (CNN)

"Three years ago many would have dismissed the notion that a significant supply of the world's automotive fuel could come from algae… Now there are well over 50 [companies seriously focused on producing algae fuel]…The number should double within the next year or two…

"…ExxonMobil… publicly skeptical of other biofuels…invested up to $600 million into a collaborative R&D program with Synthetic Genomics, a startup founded by J. Craig Venter…a key player in sequencing the human genome. Synthetic Genomics is looking at…[ways] to boost the plant's oil production. The startup received an earlier investment from BP a few years ago, but this one by ExxonMobil has raised eyebrows…[A]fter years of careful research ExxonMobil concluded that algae, among all the alternatives, has the most potential…"

The eater of our enemy is our friend. (click to enlarge)

"The airline industry, plagued by high jet-fuel prices, is also investing and testing, with players including Boeing, GE Aviation, Virgin Atlantic, Japan Airlines and Continental Airlines…Algae fuel has already helped power planes, cars, and other vehicles in various tests and demonstrations…

"…[T]he U.S. Department of Energy's [1978-1996] Aquatic Species Program focused on it before closing down…[due to] low petroleum prices and the relatively high cost of making algae fuel…Economic competitiveness remains the key challenge, and the hunt is on to find the best strains of algae…But it…will now get the kind of funding and attention…needed to turn it into a competitive industry…[Many] approaches are being tried…Solazyme (whose investors include Chevron) is growing algae in big dark tanks and feeding them sugar…Seambiotic is growing marine microalgae using…[coal-plant] carbon dioxide, which algae feed on…NASA and Google [are]…using semi-permeable membrane enclosures of sewage floating in the ocean. Only clean water leaks out, and the algae feed on [nutrients in the sewage]. Other methods...[range from] bioreactors to open ponds."

The numbers are impressive. (click to enlarge)

"…[Unlike biofuel sources] like palm…sugar cane or corn…[algae] doesn't have to be grown in places that…serve for food production or endangered species habitat…Algae can be fed sewage and carbon dioxide and grown in… deserts, ponds, and oceans…[And it] fits relatively easily into the vast infrastructure of refineries and [fossil fuel] distribution channels…But [it] is not environmentally perfect. It still creates pollution when burned…[E]nvironmentalists…prefer… cleaner options like solar and wind. Algae fuel..[is too much like] Big Oil…[However, it] does burn cleaner than fossil fuel…SunEco [algal fuel showed] an 82 percent reduction in particulate emissions with no loss of power [in trucks]…

"Huge sales…ExxonMobil says…[are] five or ten years away…[M]any ventures…will surely not survive…GreenFuel Technologies…went out of business this spring…co-products [may buoy some]…Seambiotic make food additives…Solazyme has made nutraceuticals, additives and soaps using algae…[T]he ethanol industry doesn't have a similarly wide range of fall-back alternatives…[But] ExxonMobil seems prepared to spend substantially…The initial $600 million…[plus billions for commercialization]…That's small change for the likes of ExxonMobil, but it represents a big change for the status of algae fuel."


NEVADA GEOTHERMAL GETS BIGGER
Nevada Geothermal in startup mode for 49.5 MW Blue Mountain plant; Vancouver-based developer plans to commission the geothermal power plant in September, eyeing expansion on the 17-square-mile Nevada site starting in 2010.
August 24, 2009 (Cleantech Group)

"…Nevada Geothermal Power [NGP] said revenue is within reach now that it has begun the commissioning of a 49.5-megawatt geothermal power plant in Humboldt County, Northern Nevada.

"NGP plans to complete the startup phase by the end of September, with 28 to 30 MW of output capacity fed to the grid starting in October…[P]roject developer Ormat Technologies is three months ahead of schedule on the first phase of Blue Mountain Faulkner 1."

Big doings at Blue Mountain. (click to enlarge)

"NGP then plans to replace two shallow injectors with two widely spaced make-up wells, increasing output to 40 MW…In 2010, the company plans to further investigate the nearly 11,000-acre site to expand the project to 49.5 MW…Wilson Utility [will] build a 21-mile, 120-kilovolt transmission line to connect the project with the grid of utility NV Energy, which has already completed the switchyard station north of Mill City, Nev."

Nevada is the most geothermal-rich state in the nation. (click to enlarge)

"In 2007, NGP signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement with NV Energy, formerly known as Nevada Power Company, for up to 49.5 MW of electrical power…Nevada's Renewable Portfolio Standard calls for 20 percent of renewable energy to supply their customers by 2015…[Also in 2007,] NGP secured $100 million in financing from Morgan Stanley and $20 million in bridge financing with Glitnir Bank…

"NGP says it has the potential to generate more than 200 MW of power from the four geothermal sites for which it holds exclusive development rights. In addition to the Blue Mountain Faulkner 1 project, NGP plans to develop the 20-to-30 MW Pumpernickel and 37-MW Black Warrior projects in Nevada, and the 40-to-60 MW Crump Geyser project in Oregon."